SALIC LAW and Other Frankish Laws. The Salic Law is one of those early mediaeval Frankish laws which, with other early Germanic laws are known collectively as leges germanorum. It originated with the Salian Franks.
The Salic Law has come down to us in numerous mss. and divers forms. The most ancient form, represented by Latin ms. No. 4404 in the Bibliotheque Nationale, consists of 65 chapters. The second form has the same 65 chapters, but contains inter polated provisions. The third text consists of 99 chapters. The fourth version, as amended by Charlemagne, consists of 70 chap ters with the Latinity corrected and without the glosses. The last version, published by B. J. Herold at Basel in 1557 is founded on the second recension.
The law is a compilation, the various chapters were composed at different periods, and we do not possess the original form of the compilation. Even the most ancient text, that in 65 chapters, contains passages which a comparison with the later texts shows to be interpolations. The scale of judicial fines is given in the denarius ("which makes so many solidi"), and it is known that the monetary system of the solidus did not appear until the Merovingian period. Even in its earliest form the law contains no trace of paganism—a significant fact when we consider how closely law and religion are related in their origins. The Romans are clearly indicated in the law as subjects, but as not yet forming part of the army, which consists solely of the antrustions, i.e., Frankish warriors of the king's bodyguard. As yet the law is not impregnated with the Christian spirit; this absence of both Christian and Pagan elements is due to the fact that many of the Franks were still heathens, although their king had been con verted to Christianity. (For contrary opinion see Franz Beyerle in the Zeitschrift der Savigny-Stiftung, xliv. 216 seq.) Christian enactments were introduced gradually into the later versions. Finally, we find capitularies of the kings immediately following Clovis being gradually incorporated in the text of the law—e.g., the Pactum pro tenore pacis of Childebert I. and Clotaire I. (511
558), and the Edictum Chilperici (561-584), chapter iii. of which cites and emends the Salic Law.
The law as originally compiled underwent modifications of varying importance before it took the form known to us in Latin ms. No. 4404, to which the edict of Childebert I. and Clotaire I. is already appended. Finally, Charlemagne, who took a keen in terest in the ancient documents, had the law emended, the opera tion consisting in eliminating the Malberg glosses, which were no longer intelligible, correcting the Latinity of the ancient text, omitting a certain number of interpolated chapters, and adding others which had obtained general sanction.
The Salic Law is not a political law ; it is in no way concerned with the succession to the throne of France, and it is absolutely false to suppose that it was the Salic Law that was invoked in 1316 and 1322 to exclude the daughters of Louis X. and Philip V. from the succession to the throne. The Salic Law is pre-eminently a penal code, which shows the amount of fines for various offences and crimes, and contains, besides, some civil law enactments, such as the famous chapter on succession to private property (de alode), which declares that daughters cannot inherit land.
Of the numerous editions of the Salic Law only the principal ones can be mentioned: J. M. Pardessus, Loi salique (Paris, 8 texts; A. Holder, Lex Salica (1879 seq.), reproductions of all the mss. with all the abbreviations ; H. Geffcken, Lex Salim (Leipzig, 1898), the text in 65 chapters, with commentary paragraph by paragraph, and appendix of additamenta: and the edition undertaken by Bruno Krusch for the Mon. Germ. hist. For further information see E. Mayer Homberg, Die frdnkischen V olksrechte und das Reichsrecht (1912) ; Cl. v. Schwerin, in the Neues Archiv, xl. 581 seq.; Bruno Krusch, in the Neues Archly, xl. 497 seq., and in the Nachrichten der Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Gottingen (1916), 683 seq.; E. Heymann and others, in the Neues Archiv, xli. 375 seq., 419 seq.; Franz Beyerle, in the Zeitschrift der Savigny-Stiftung, xliv. 216 seq.